Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Job Applications: What you Need to Know

I've been a job applicant plenty of times; now I've done a good deal of screening job applications and selecting the interview pool, interviewing and hiring.

Bo's resume drop on Monday resulted in the receipt of one job application and invitation to submit it.

That leads to meeting our first goal: How to fill out a job application? Answer: Carefully and completely. Use your resume as a guide not a replacement.

Here's a sad story about not being careful and complete: a friend of mine had a sweet temporary job: Laura was the alternative transportation coordinator. She arranged events around bicycling, busing and walking. Laura loved to ride, talk to people and encourage sustainable transportation. She loved it and wanted to get on as a full-time regular employee and, sure enough, that position arrived. The job was posted. She filled out the application and sent it in on the deadline. She didn't even get an interview. What happened?

She wasn't careful. Laura forgot to sign the application certifying that all the information was true. She didn't fill in some of the required fields. Laura blew it. She was devastated. HR wouldn't budge. She lost the temporary job she loved and the permanent job she dreamed of.

Be careful, be complete, and honest when completing job applications. The rest will follow.

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